Bound Secrets
by Parsec
Summary: [Rated R for graphic scenes later on]  Maxwell finds an old book that unlocks ancient secrets not meant to be uncovered...  [Chapter 2 is up]
1. Chapter 1

[WARNING:  This starts out pretty tame, but it'll become graphic in later chapters.  Just a friendly warning.]

Bound Secrets

By:  Mark J. Hadley

CHAPTER 1 

            All was quiet at the clubhouse, save for the soft "*Zu-zu-zu*…" of Snoozer, lying up on his little alcove above.  The other Ham-Hams came in through the front door, with Hamtaro in the lead, holding a little ball in his paws.  "That was great!" he exclaimed to the others.  "So that's volleyball, Stan?"

            "Uh-huh," Stan nodded.  "It's a great sport, but…well, I usually do better than I did out there."

            "Aw, quit complainin'," Boss said, sitting down at the table and smiling triumphantly.  "Just 'cause our team won…"

            Stan shook his head, "Nah, it was a close game either way.  I just felt like I didn't play as well as I usually do, that's all."  He took a seat at the table to rest, as did the others.

            "It was fun, but I'm all sore now," Dexter complained.  "Did you have to spike the ball on me so hard that one time, Howdy?"

            Howdy shrugged, "I did it to get yer attention; you were spendin' all yer time lookin' at Pashmina.  Our team got the point there, but I was hopin' _you'd_ got the point too!"  He laughed at his own joke, but his laughter quickly died out as he realized that no one else was laughing at it.

            Bijou smiled over at Hamtaro and said, "I am glad we were able to be on ze same team, even if we did not win…we had fun playing ze game anyway."

            "I'll have to read up about volleyball some more," Maxwell said.  "Maybe I can come up with some strategies for our next game."

            "That'd be great!" Hamtaro nodded, rubbing his head, "*Kushi-kushi*…"

            Maxwell got up from the table and headed off upstairs, to his little library.  All of his best books were stored there, as well as a large collection of books he hadn't even read yet.  _One of these has to have some strategies for volleyball,_ he thought, as he browsed through the titles on the shelves.  Unfortunately, he couldn't find hardly any books on sports, and those that he did find didn't contain info about volleyball.

            _Time to check out my older stash of books,_ he thought.  Going under the bookshelves, he pulled out a small box and opened it up.  A cloud of dust rose from it, and he waved it away, coughing.  _I've been meaning to go through this box anyway.  All these books belonged to my grandfather…_

            Maxwell sifted through the titles, but couldn't find much that grabbed his attention.  They were mostly old cookbooks, a few storybooks, and what looked like two volumes of an encyclopedia, but none of them were what he was looking for.  Still, some looked interesting, and he knew he'd have to come back and read them.

            As he moved one book aside, he spotted something underneath.  It was a very old-looking book…he carefully lifted it out of the box, and blew the dust from its cover to examine it better.  It was a thick book, with a heavy binding…the title read, '_Magus Liber_,' which was unfamiliar to him.  It looked like it could be in another language.  Flipping open the book, he found that it was indeed another language…the writing inside definitely wasn't English.

            _It looks like Latin,_ Maxwell thought to himself.  _I've heard of it, but I haven't learned how to read it.  I don't think I have any books that can translate it, either…_  He went through the first pages, which looked like an index and possibly a story after that.  Around page twelve, though, the format shifted.  Now, instead, there were separate lines of text, followed by sets of indented words surrounded by quotation marks.  He continued through them, and noticed that some of them were short, only one or two words long, but others were very long, the quoted text going for pages.  He wasn't sure what to make of it…

            "Whatcha got there?" came Panda's voice from behind him, startling him.  As he turned around, Panda looked apologetic and said, "Whoops, sorry…didn't mean to scare you there…"

            "It's okay…" Maxwell nodded.  He looked back at the book and said, "I just found this old book that belonged to my grandfather.  It looks really, really old, though, like way older than he was.  I wonder if it belonged to _his _grandfather?"

            Panda looked over at it and asked, "What's it about?"

            "I don't know, it's in Latin," Maxwell answered.  "I can't read it…"

            "Maybe you should go try to find the Elder Ham," Panda suggested.  "He might know it, if it's a really old language."

            Maxwell thought about this for a moment, then said, "Maybe…well, we'll have to see.  I'll go show it to him tomorrow, I guess…"  He closed the book and set it aside on the shelf, then continued to go through the box's contents…

*          *            *

            That evening, after everyone's humans had gone to sleep, the Ham-Hams gathered again at the clubhouse…even though it was late, they thought it would be a good evening to get together and have a late-night party under the full moon.  Everyone was enjoying themselves, and as they gathered around a campfire and watched the stars.  "Such a clear sky," Bijou remarked.  "Zis is like a romantic evening back in France, yes?"

            Before Hamtaro, or anyone else, could answer, Boss blushed and scratched the side of his head idily, "Well, heheh, I guess only _you _could know about that…I'd like to visit France someday myself, you know…"

            Oxnard was wedging a small sunflower seed on the end of a stick, and held it out over the campfire, "Roasted sunflower seeds…mmm, I know this is gonna be good!"

            "Hey, I have a cool idea," Sandy said, looking over at Maxwell.  "Why don't you go get one of your storybooks and read a story for everyone?"  There were sounds of approval from everyone at the idea.

            "Sure!  I'd love to," Maxwell agreed, standing up.  "I'll be right back, okay?"  With that, he ran off into the clubhouse, "*Badda-badda-badda-badda*…" to head up to his library and pick out a story for everyone.

            While he went across his selection of books, he stopped as he reached the _Magus Liber_, sitting on the shelf where he had put it.  Curiosity was getting the better of him, and he pulled the book out, heading over to a small table to look at it more closely under the light.  It definitely was old…the cover was worn, and the pages were brittle around the edges; he had to be careful not to damage them.  Plus, there was something odd about the cover itself, and the ink that was used on the pages, although he couldn't put his finger on it…

            The Latin phrases were still as undecipherable as always, though he glanced over them just the same.  It was obvious to tell that English was eventually derived from it, because there were a few similar words.  He looked at one particular phrase, contained in quotes, and read it aloud, "_Incendia exuro…_Hmm, that almost sounds li—…"

            Abruptly, the table he was at suddenly caught on fire.  This surprised him, and he leapt back away from it…glancing around quickly, he found a dust cloth and tossed it over the fire to smother it.  Once the fire was out, he breathed a sigh of relief, then pulled the book off of the table, inspecting it and finding it undamaged.

            _That was weird_, he thought.  _The word _'incendia'_ sounds a lot like 'incendiary', which relates to fire…hmm, I wonder…_  He flipped to the next page in the book and ran his paw down the list, stopping on another phrase.  Shrugging, he thought, _I feel silly, but…hey, why not…_

            Clearing his throat, he read the line aloud, "_Volaticus veneficus!_"  He waited, but nothing seemed to happen, although he felt a slight tremble in the book…it could have been just his imagination, though.  "Ah well," he said, and turned to head back for the bookcase to put the book back.

            It took him a moment to realize that his feet weren't touching the ground.  Looking down in surprise, he waved his feet in the air, confirming that he was indeed hovering off the ground.  He panicked a little, and finally grabbed hold of the wall.  He clung to it, and stammered, "Wh-what the…?  This is impossible!"  Still, there he was, in the air, so he realized that whatever it was, it was really happening.

            A minute later, he felt gravity pulling on him again, and carefully climbed down from the wall, settling his feet unsteadily on the ground.  Looking again at the title of the book, he studied it more closely.  _It's called the _'Magus Liber', he thought…_Well, _'Liber'_ sounds a lot like 'Library', so it could mean 'Book'…and as for '_Magus'_…_

            He wondered if he had somehow stumbled upon a real book of magic…a spellbook.  That was crazy, though…all his logic told him that such things only existed in stories, and that it couldn't possibly be what he had right there in his hands.  _Maybe if I tried reading another one,_ he thought_, just to be sure…I wish I knew what these meant.  Those other lines could be descriptions or something.  Oh well…here goes…_  He looked back down at the page and read another passage aloud, "_Prodigium, maleficus et infectus, advoco!_"

            Absolutely nothing happened.  He looked back and forth to make sure that nothing had changed, then examined the phrase again, wondering if he had maybe mispronounced it.  _Or maybe,_ he thought, _this is all just my imagination to begin with…_

            He suddenly remembered that he had promised to bring a story down to read everyone.  Hastily closing the _Magus Liber_ and putting it back on the shelf, he looked over his storybooks and chose one.  He left the room in a hurry, to head back outside and join the others by the campfire.

            Maxwell was in such a hurry that he didn't even notice the floor: strange black lines spread across it in a circular, complex pattern, forming a design, and for just a moment, the lines glowed a faint red.  A foggy red mist filled the room for a brief moment, then the design on the floor vanished, and the mist seemed to vanish with it.  But whatever it was hadn't gone entirely, because in the next moment, there was a soft laugh that seemed to echo within the confines of the room, although there was no one around to hear it…

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 

            "…and thanks to Twitchy's timely rescue, he and Julie escaped the cat's lair," Maxwell read from the book in his paws, "and they both lived happily ever after.  The end."

            The other Ham-Hams around the fire smiled in appreciation at the story Maxwell had just finished.  "Isn't that sweet?" Sandy said.  "Twitchy was so timid, but when Julie was in danger, he _knew _he had to be brave!"

            "I know," Bijou agreed.  "It is romantic, no?"

            Folding his arms, Boss remarked, "Eh, it's not bad, I guess.  For a beginner, I mean.  I've saved a few Hams _myself_ in the past, y'know."

            "Yes, like _me_," Bijou said, turning to look at Boss with a smile.  "Zat _was _very sweet of you, too."

            "Aw, it wasn't nothin', really…" Boss said, scratching his head and blushing at the same time.

            Hamtaro nodded, "It was a good story.  Even someone as shy as Twitchy still had the heart of a hero.  I like that!"  He looked over at Maxwell and asked, "So what's next?"

            "I know just the thing," Maxwell said, thumbing through his book.  "It's a story about a lost little puppy and the three hamsters that helped find his way home."

            "Cool," Stan exclaimed.  "Let's hear it!"

            Penelope nodded in agreement, "Ookyoo!"

            As he went through the book, he looked puzzled and said, "Hmm…oh wait, that's right, _that_ story is in volume _three_…maybe I should read a different one…"

            Oxnard was just finishing a roasted sunflower seed and said, "Don't do that!  Now you got me wondering what happens to the puppy!"

            "Yeah," Maxwell said.  "Oxy, could you go get me the book?  It's on my top shelf.  They're the only books that are green…volume three, remember."

            Oxnard nodded and said, "Got it!"  He got to his feet and scampered off towards the clubhouse.  As he headed inside and went upstairs, he thought, _I wonder if the puppy does make it home at the end…I've just gotta know!  Maybe I can peek at the ending before I bring it down…I'm sure he won't mind…_

            He went in through the door to the room where Maxwell keeps his books, and headed for the shelf.  Sure enough, there were about five green books on the top shelf, and he reached up, pulling volume three down.  As he flipped it open to find out the ending, he blinked a few times and said, "Oh, I almost forgot, I don't even know the name of the story!  Aw…I guess that means I'm gonna have to wait and…"

            [_…food…_]

            "Heke?" Oxnard said, glancing around.  He thought for a moment that he heard something whispering, but there wasn't anyone there.  _Of course there isn't,_ he reasoned.  _Everyone's outside.  I'll just take the book down…_

            [_…food…_]

            That time, he _knew _he didn't imagine it.  Clutching the book to his chest, he turned around to face the door and said, "Wh-who's there?"  There was no answer.  He started to edge towards it slowly, wondering if maybe he should just leave…he didn't notice the shadow that grew against the wall behind him, spreading across the bookcase and up to the ceiling, a shadow that slowly took shape.  The shadow fell across Oxnard, and he noticed it out of the corner of his eye.  He spun around, but wasn't even able to speak as the voice echoed in the air again, more loudly this time…

            [_…FOOD…_]

*          *            *

            "What's taking Oxnard so long?" Boss complained.  "He shoulda been back by _now_.  He better not have taken a break to eat…"  The other Ham-Hams were beginning to notice how long he'd been gone as well, and a couple of them were wondering how come he hadn't yet returned.

            "Maybe he just can't find the book," Pashmina suggested.

            "I told him exactly where it was…at least, where I last saw it," Maxwell mused, then looked worried, "Good grief, I hope he isn't tearing through my library looking for it!  I have them in a certain order!"

            Dexter shrugged, "I'm sure it's nothing to be concerned about…"

            "Yeah," Howdy agreed.  "We're readin' too much into this.  Hah!  Get it?  _Readin'_?"  The glares from everyone else showed that they _did _get it, but weren't too pleased about it.

            "That's it, I'm going to go check on him," Maxwell said, getting up and starting towards the clubhouse.  "If all else, I can just get the book myself."

            "Hurry back!" Bijou called out.

            Maxwell went inside, shaking his head as he did, and thinking, _Oxy, c'mon…it couldn't have been that hard to find it, they're the only green ones on there!  Hmm, maybe I put volume three somewhere else, though.  Ah, I don't know.  All I know is, if one book is out of place, I'll have to have a little talk with Oxy about the Dewey decimal system…_

            As he started to approach the door to his library, he noticed it was still slightly ajar, and heard sounds coming from inside…he couldn't make it out, but it sounded like chewing.  _Should have figured he'd take a break to stop and eat, _he thought, and stepped up to the door, swinging it open.

            He didn't expect to see what he saw, though, and found himself frozen in shock, staring open-mouthed at the sight.  There was something hunched in the room, something that he could barely describe…it was both formless and solid at the same time, like dense, swirling red mist, with long, thin arms and legs, ending in three-toed claws.  A pair of something that looked like wings emerged from its back, although they were little more than skeletal, and burned an even brighter red than the rest of it, like they were on fire.  Its head consisted of a wide mouth lined with sharp teeth, and curved horns sticking out from the sides.

            The thing was holding something in its claws and tearing into it with its teeth…something small and furry, and covered in blood.  It was already half-devoured, and even though part of Maxwell told him it was impossible, logic forced it on him.  It was Oxnard…there was no mistaking the fur color that he could barely make out beneath the blood, which collected in a pool on the floor beneath them as well.

            It lifted its head to look in Maxwell's direction, with a pair of bright, glowing red eyes that seemed to pierce directly into his soul.  He was horrified…he felt like running, and knew he had to get away, yet the unearthly stare of this creature somehow kept him rooted in place.  By fear, or by some other means, he couldn't be sure.  All he could do is watch as it dropped what was left of Oxnard and approached him, crossing the room in only two heavy, slow strides.  Maxwell shook uncontrollably, but still couldn't budge.

            Gazing down at him, the creature lowered itself down to one knee.  It opened its mouth and spoke…the words that emerged were twisted, meaningless, like some ancient, indecipherable language, yet as it sounded aloud, a voice echoed inside his head at the same time.  [_…Greetings, my master…_]

            "Wh…h…" Maxwell stammered, trying to form something coherent, but failing miserably.  "Y…y-you…w-wha…"

            Narrowing one eye curiously, the creature spoke again, [_…You are the one who summoned me forth, are you not?  The one who bears the Magus Liber?…_]

            Maxwell's eyes fell on the table to his side, where the _Magus Liber_ rested.  He looked back at the creature, and said, "I…I s-summoned…you…?  Wh-who are you?"

            [_…I am called Gur'chrugoth.  You recited the incantation that awoke me, mortal.  As I am bound by the powers of the Magus Liber, I have come as you have asked of me…_]

            "B-but…Oxnard…" Maxwell said, his eyes darting over just for a moment to look at the remains of his friend.

            Gur'chrugoth cast a glance in the same direction and said, [_…You did not have the necessary sacrificial meal prepared when you summoned me.  I assumed this was it…_]

            Maxwell shouted, "No!  That was my friend!"

            The creature didn't looked like it cared…it looked at Maxwell again and said, [_…I am satiated now, and ready to do your bidding, my master…what would you have me do?_]

            Storming the rest of the way into the room and slamming the door behind him, he said, "Can you save him somehow?  Bring him back?"

            Shaking its head, Gur'chrugoth said, [_…No.  Even had I the power to restore life to the dead, the being's soul has been consumed, as part of the sacrifice…_]

            Maxwell's head was awhirl…things were happening to fast.  He had summoned up some kind of demon…one of his best friends was gone…and all because of that book he found.  He felt terrible, wondering what he had done to deserve this…what _Oxnard_ had done to deserve this…

            _Okay, calm down, calm down, _Maxwell thought.  _It looks bad, but at least this thing's under your control.  It's not running around trying to kill anyone else.  You can still get rid of it…maybe that book…_ He pointed at the _Magus Liber_ and said, "What can you tell me about that book?"

            [_…The Magus Liber?  It was written and crafted long ago, a tome that grants great power to the one who possesses it.  It is merely a focus for that power, which is released through the incantations scribed upon its pages…_]

            A knock sounded at the door, and Hamtaro's voice came from the other side, "Maxwell?  Oxnard?  Are you guys in there?"

            Seized with sudden fear, Maxwell thought, _Oh no!  I…I can't let them find out about this!  I can't let them find out I caused this to happen to Oxy…what do I do?!_  He turned to Gur'chrugoth and whispered quickly, "Can you do something to hide this?  They can't find out about you, or that Oxnard's dead!"

            With a spread of its claw, the mess on the floor vanished…Maxwell gasped as the bloodied remains of Oxnard got back to its feet, and a mist of blood swirled above it.  He watched wordlessly as bone, muscle, and skin began knitting itself back together again on the top, and when it finally finished, Oxnard was standing there once again, back in one piece.

            [_…A soulless corpse…but it will serve as a sufficient vessel…_]  Gur'chrugoth turned completely into a red mist and moved to surround Oxnard's body, disappearing into it.  A moment later, the body's eyes opened up again, blinked a few times, and he looked over at the shocked Maxwell, speaking in Oxnard's voice, "The deception is ready, my master."

            "Hamha?" Hamtaro's voice shouted from the door again.  "Are you guys okay?"

            Snapping out of his trance, Maxwell realized he had no choice but to see this through.  He turned and opened the door slowly…Hamtaro looked like he was nervous, but then looked relieved once he saw both of them.  "You had me worried for a second.  Did you find the story okay?" he asked.

            "Uh…w-well…" Maxwell said…he looked over at 'Oxnard', who raised a green book with one of his paws, the one that Oxnard had been going to get.  He breathed a small sigh of relief and said, "Yeah, we've got it right here."

            "Great!  Now let's get back out there," Hamtaro smiled.  "The others are getting anxious to hear it!"

            Maxwell took the book from Oxnard and handed it to Hamtaro, saying, "Here, you read them the story.  I've got some…uh…I mean…Oxy got some of the books out of order, and he's going to help me put them back the way they were, okay?  You'll do fine…the story's in there, it's called 'The Lost Puppy', okay?"

            "Sure, I guess…" Hamtaro agreed.  "Well, don't be too long…"

            Maxwell nodded slowly, and Hamtaro left to head back downstairs.  Closing the door, Maxwell leaned his head up against it, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, trying to sort the whole mess out.  He opened his eyes again and looked over at the _Magus Liber_, then started over towards the table it was sitting on.  Oxnard turned his head to watch him cross the room, following his every move with his gaze but not moving from the spot, and stood wordlessly as Maxwell started going through the book.   He thought, _There's got to be some way I can undo all this…it's a spell book, after all, so I'll just figure it out…if I can…please say that I can…_

TO BE CONTINUED… 


End file.
